The Case for Gratitude – Why you Must Choose Gratitude Starting Today

Laying in bed with your eyes squeezed shut in the early morning stillness, you can almost convince yourself of this reality. For this split second, the cheerful sound of birds chirping is enough.

Then with a sinking, gut wrenching realization, the truth crashes around you with the force of an avalanche.

You’re hurting.

You can’t escape the hopelessness that enfolds you like a suffocating straight jacket.

It all just seems too much.

What happened to the positive girl I used to be? you think. Who is this cynical person?

I know this person, because this person is me.

But while my heart might not acknowledge it, somewhere inside of me knows that there is hope.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. At first you might need to squint really hard to barely see it through the tiny slits of your eyes. But the closer you get, the easier it is to see. And pretty soon, with enough persistence and practice, you’re walking in the full blown light of day.

This light, this beautiful tool, is called gratitude. There is a reason God commands us to be “thankful in everything” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Today I’m making the case for gratitude. Because gratitude, my friends, changes everything.

Practicing gratitude changes your perspective.

There’s no doubt about the fact that a thankful person is a happy person. It’s really hard to be thankful and miserable at the same time.

Choosing to be grateful forces you to see the positive, the good, in every situation. You can’t live the life you used to live when you’re always looking at the bright side. The two cannot coexist.

When you make a point to be thankful, every single day, your perspective will radically change.

Choosing gratitude will change your relationships

Maybe, like me, you have a tendency to see the cynical side of things. There are no rose colored glasses for you, but only sunglasses that cast a shadow on the landscape of your life.

Perhaps you worry incessantly. The anxiety never ends. You’re living in a heightened state of fight or flight, depression and hopelessness.

I know first hand that a life in this constant state is no life at all.

But when you choose gratitude, when you begin to live a thankful life, something softly shifts. Those closest to you will see something flourish and bloom, a shimmer of life where there was once fear.

Think about the most grateful person you know. Aren’t they just the best people to be around? Don’t you find you gravitate towards this grateful person, because life looks and feels so much better from their point of view?

It’s hard not to love someone who is so darn grateful for everything.

Gratitude is contagious

When you’re living a life of gratitude, you will inspire others to do the same. Gratitude is contagious, in the best possible way, and the more gratitude you share with others, the more the goodness will spread.

When you choose gratitude you will change the world.

Think about it for a minute. If every person in the world chose to be thankful for something every single day, how much greater would the world be?

Gratitude leads to kindness, which leads to goodness, which leads to love, which is contagious, which spreads to whoever you have contact with.

You want to change the world? Start with gratitude.

Gratitude is such a powerful practice. It shapes your thoughts, your hopes, your dreams, your very life. It influences the decisions you make, and the people around you. It inspires change, ignites hope, and cultivates joy, and spreads love. It’s contagious. It’s world-changing.